At the time (1963 - 1978), looking at writing as a process rather than product seemed to be a magic bullet. And it did spark a change in emphasis, shifting us away from surface features and towards how things get done. It sparked a flurry of empirical research into how students and expert wrote and theory building on the nature of the process(es) of composing. But the complex, recursive process became linear in the classroom as it was made into a formula to suit a curriculum and a course pattern. Process was reduced to recipe. Observations on how people composed became curricular prescriptions. Doomed from the start.